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British Bookmakers Set to Make Record Contribution for Rights to Show Horse Racing
British bookmakers are on track to make a record contribution to horse racing next year – with the bill for media rights forecast to increase by nearly £30m.
The Betting and Gaming Council’s five biggest members for horse race betting, Entain, Flutter, bet365, 888/William Hill and Betfred, expect to see a record cost increase to broadcast races.
In 2022, BGC members paid £270.1m for the rights to live stream races for customers and show them in bookmakers.
But that cost is forecast to rise to £285.3m this year, an increase of 5.6%, with members estimating a further increase to £315.2m in 2024, a further bump of 10.5%.
The combined increase for media rights costs is now expected to rise by 16.7% between 2022 and 2024.
The figures are based on data supplied by the Betting and Gaming Council’s five biggest members for horse race betting, then adjusted to include smaller operators, who must also pay for media rights.
Michael Dugher, CEO of Betting and Gaming Council, said: “BGC members are already making a record contribution to horse racing and these figures show that is only going to increase.
“This comes despite a reduction in betting turnover on racing in the last five years and a worrying decline in participation in horse race betting overall.
“Horse racing remains a hugely important, world-leading sport, enjoyed by millions of fans and like the betting industry it continues to support large numbers of jobs.
“I know racing is trying to modernise and reach out to new fans, while also trying to bounce back from the Covid pandemic and deal with some difficult economic headwinds, plus deal with the hit on its funding caused by the Government. The betting industry is dealing with many of the same pressures on our revenues and costs.
“The BGC and our members remain fully committed to working together with the leadership of the sport, including the BHA and others, to ensure a better future for racing. But the fact that we are making a record and growing contribution to the sport cannot be ignored.”
The forecast costs come after the BGC announced their members directly contributed £384m to British horse racing last year in levy, media rights and sponsorship deals.
These figures showed an increase on previous estimates for the regulated sector’s contribution, which had placed it at around £350m a year.
In addition, bookmakers spent £125m on marketing to promote racing and betting through advertisements and partnerships, which helps secure vital terrestrial coverage of the sport and raise revenue for print newspaper titles.
As well as the increased costs for media rights, levy payments are projected to be £99m in 2022/2023, according to the Horserace Betting Levy Board.
This record investment also enabled horse racing to use some of these revenues to deliver record prize money of £179.3m in 2022.
Horse racing is the second biggest sport in the UK, second only to football, with more than five million people attending around 1400 fixtures annually across 59 racecourses.
However, its popularity is in decline. In 2007, 17% of the population participated in horse race betting in the previous year, but that fell to 10% in 2018.
Meanwhile football overtook horse racing betting around the same time between 2017/2018.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has committed to reviewing the Horseracing Levy by next year.
The Horseracing Levy, which is administered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, goes towards improving the sport, breeding and boosting veterinary care.
Betting operators are working closely with the British Horseracing Authority and racing stakeholders on much needed reforms to the fixture list and race programme which should increase commercial returns from the levy and media rights.
The regulated betting industry fully supports this once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise horse racing so it can realise its full commercial potential.
The BGC is also working closely with the government on the proposed reforms from the White Paper to ensure those who enjoy betting can continue to do so without unnecessary intrusion, while introducing improved safeguards for the minority who struggle.
Betting shops currently support around 42,000 jobs, contribute £1bn a year in tax to the Treasury and another £60m in business rates to local councils.
The wider regulated betting and gaming industry contributes £7.1bn to the economy, generates £4.2bn in tax and supports 110,000 jobs.
In April DCMS unveiled the Government’s new White Paper on gambling reform, including a number of key measures the BGC had campaigned for.
Those included a new mandatory Ombudsman for the regulated sector, enhanced spending checks online and a new mandatory levy to fund research, education and treatment to tackle gambling related harm and problem gambling.
Each month in Great Britain around 22.5m adults have a bet and the most recent Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4% of the adult population are problem gamblers.
Meanwhile the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online is growing in the UK, with the numbers betting on these sites doubling in recent years, and the amount staked in the billions.
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A large-scale $1 billion online casino shady scheme involving Ukrainian fraudsters Vadim Gordievsky and Alyona Suvorova has been discovered in Kazakhstan.
The Kazakhstan Financial Monitoring Agency has revealed a large-scale shady scheme with a whole layer of cross-border transfers. While referring to the press service of the Agency, Elordainfo.kz informs that numerous bank employees and 120 people from several countries were involved in the operation of the shady scheme.
The money was sent to various payment organizations, disguised as legal transactions, and was later withdrawn to numerous online casinos.
At the same time, local authorities managed to eliminate the call center, which employed foreigners, which provided technical support for four online casinos as well as advice on money transactions. In addition, the organizers of the call center created a gambling partnership program that was used to accept payments and withdraw them in cryptocurrencies. The overall turnover exceeded 200 million USDT.
During the implementation of all these measures, over 70 searches were conducted. As a result of these activities, local authorities managed to gather physical evidence as well as to detain nine suspects.
According to law enforcement authorities in Kazakhstan, the key organizer of the shady miscoding scheme is Ukrainian Vadim Ivanovich Gordievsky, born in 1974. He led this organized crime group and used the local Marginplus company for these purposes (marginplus.kz). In addition to companies from Kazakhstan, Gordievsky also worked with illegal Russian online casinos while helping them to facilitate payments.
Already in 2008, Vadim Gordievsky served as deputy head of the Boryspil Regional State Administration and was in charge of land issues. Under Gordievsky, various lands of Boryspil were sold while the money was stolen. In the same 2008, he was dismissed from his position with a huge scandal, but his case never resulted in criminal proceedings. A lot of money and connections in government offices helped him avoid accountability.
In 2012, when Viktor Yanukovych came to power, Vadim Gordievsky took the chair of the head of the highway service in the Odessa region, where he managed to get access to millions of dollars, which he later invested in FC Alta Capital.
After the initiation of criminal cases for financial crimes, fraud, and the announcement of his wanted list by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vadim Gordievsky left Ukraine on forged documents.
According to investigators, Gordievsky’s partner, Mikhail Kovalev (Mykhaylo Kovalov), who has a number of companies in the EU, in particular, in Poland and a residence permit in Spain, was closely working with Gordievsky. By using numerous fictitious companies in Poland, in particular, STABLEX SOLUTION Sp. z o. o (solvexs.pl) he engaged in illegal payments and cash withdrawal in cryptocurrencies.
His partner, who is also his former Kyivstar employee, Alyona (Olena) Suvorova (born in 1983), who left Ukraine for Moscow after February 2022, and Ukrainian IT specialist Denis Andreevich Rykov (born in 1990), who currently lives in St. Petersburg, also participated in the shady scheme of illegal bookmakers and dubious payments.
Judging by her social media accounts, Alyona Suvorova is currently positioning herself “as an entrepreneur, investor, and crypto trader with 5+ years of experience.” According to Suvorova herself, she has been developing payment technologies in the field of FinTech for 10 years. In 2021, she opened her own business for international crypto transfers. In addition, she is the founder of the Lemoncoin Crypto Academy.
The law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan are asking for information about the location and data of all these people. In the near future, Vadim Gordievsky, Alyona Suvorova, and other defendants will be put on the international wanted list. According to local laws, they face up to nine years in prison.
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El mundo de las apuestas deportivas y el gaming está a punto de experimentar una gran sacudida con el lanzamiento de Goal2Win, el innovador nuevo juego de números de GoldenRace, diseñado para cautivar a la masiva audiencia global del fútbol.
Goal2Win tiende un exitoso puente entre la pasión universal por el deporte rey y la probada emoción de las predicciones basadas en números, ofreciendo a los operadores un producto nuevo y de alto potencial para la monetización.
Goal2Win es una oferta de primer nivel que toma el formato familiar y clásico de los juegos de números y lo integra con una dinámica temática centrada en el fútbol. Esta combinación única hace que el juego sea instantáneamente reconocible, pero a la vez emocionante y nuevo, atrayendo tanto a apostadores deportivos experimentados como a recién llegados que buscan una experiencia atractiva y simplificada.
Goal2Win es la apuesta de GoldenRace entre la innovación y la tradición. Ofrece a los operadores un producto que aprovecha el inmenso alcance del fanatismo por el fútbol, a la vez que ofrece la jugabilidad sencilla y atractiva y el potencial de ganancias masivas que se espera de un juego de números de primer nivel. Es una mezcla convincente de emoción, simplicidad y un potencial de recompensa significativo.
Características clave que impulsan la fidelización y las ganancias potenciales
Goal2Win está diseñado para la máxima retención de jugadores y altas apuestas, con una jugabilidad dinámica y potentes características:
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Función multiplicadora: Los jugadores pueden realizar el mismo conjunto de apuestas en una impresionante cantidad de veintidós eventos consecutivos, lo que aumenta significativamente las ganancias potenciales y asegura una fidelización sostenida a lo largo del tiempo.
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Jackpots y Mega Jackpots: El juego incluye ganancias escalonadas con jackpots estándar y los codiciados Mega Jackpots, que prometen sumas que pueden cambiar la vida y actúan como un poderoso motivador para el jugador.
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Selecciones rápidas: Para un acceso rápido a la acción, la opción de Selecciones rápidas permite al sistema elegir números al azar, agilizando el proceso de apuesta para los jugadores.
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Selector de Fila/Columna: Mejorando la experiencia del usuario, los botones selectores permiten a los jugadores elegir fácilmente una fila o columna completa de números, simplificando las apuestas sofisticadas.
Goal2Win representa una oportunidad única para que los operadores aprovechen la inmensa base de aficionados al fútbol global con un producto que es a la vez innovador y reconocible al instante. Está listo para convertirse en una oferta básica, impulsando apuestas más altas y atrayendo a una demografía más amplia a la cartera de los operadores.
The post GoldenRace lanza Goal2Win, una fusión entre el fútbol y los juegos de números appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Wrap up warm this festive season with some retro-inspired slot action
Popular iGaming content provider BGaming invites you to cosy up to the fire and hit spin with the release of Totally Hot. This dynamic new title combines classic slot elements with modern gameplay mechanics.
Taking into account its December launch, BGaming dressed up the game for the season: the action is brought to life with bold visuals and festive animations, with roaring hot flames filling the background and Christmas candy canes bordering the reels. Totally Hot will revert to its original version when the holiday season is over.
It is not only the game’s visuals that have been given a modern makeover. Totally Hot deploys a pay-both-ways payment mechanic across its 5×3 game grid, giving players the chance to win with matching combinations in both directions across the reels. Wins go from left-to-right, right-to-left, and even begin in the middle of the reels.
There is also the potential for a festive treat to drop in the middle of the grid in the form of an Expanding Wild, holding players’ attention with the action on every spin.
Totally Hot keeps the good times rolling thanks to a low-volatility maths model that entertains players with frequent wins. This is complemented by an extremely attractive RTP of 97.21%.
Vasili Pauliuchenko, Game Producer at BGaming, said, “The holidays are here, and we wanted to provide our players with the bright and warm gift of nostalgia this Christmas. Totally Hot has been designed to captivate new players and seasoned classic slot lovers alike, keeping them engaged with wins coming from literally every direction.
The game’s blazing vibes and low volatility serve up plenty of laid-back fun.”
The post Experience Classic Slot Thrills this Christmas With BGaming’s Totally Hot appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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